CLARKE: "DEFINITELY MADE THE TEAM FITTER"

Speaking following the Iron's week-long trip to Austria, full-back Jordan Clarke was delighted with how the tour went on the whole.

The trip included two games, one which was abandoned after 31 minutes, while the other saw the Iron taste defeat to FC Liefering.

“It was great to get out there,” Clarke told The Iron PlayerHD, reacting following the game.

“It was an unbelievable surface and facilities. I’d say for the first 15 minutes we were a little shell shocked by the quality of the opposition.

“They passed it and move it around well, but after that we got to grips with the game and got in behind. We had a goal disallowed and scored the goal, but we also had a few other chances that we should have maybe done better with.”

With the loss the first of the Iron’s pre-season, Clarke was still happy with his input into the game during his 60 minutes, and also praised FC Liefering.

“For the time I was on I thought I personally did well, but I also thought we played well as a team," he continued.

“The opposition were very technical, but also very gifted, so it was a very good test for us as we’re not going to get that type of game in League One."

Early morning runs, cycles and jogs uphill have been all part of the week in Austria, but Clarke has relished it, also stating his delight at finding himself back at the weight he would want to enter the season with.

“I got back to training at the start of pre-season and I was 80kg, and I weighed myself yesterday and I’m down to 78kg, which is what I usually am during the season, so I think the trip has done wonders.

“There’s some very good facilities and pitches and the food was good too. The days have been really tough, as I’ve never woken up at 6am (5am English time) in my life to do any type of training.

“To do that every day it is a shock to the system, but we quickly got used to it and it has definitely made me and the rest of the team fitter.”

See more from Jordan Clarke and other coverage of the #IroninAustria on The Iron PlayerHD.